What is it safe to do after getting the COVID-19 vaccine? Experts weigh.

If you have just received your coronavirus vaccine and your mind is buzzing thinking about all the things you can do now that you have protection against COVID-19, it is certainly understandable.

It’s been an incredibly tough year and I’ve given up a lot. We failed to get out safely with friends and family. I canceled weddings and parties. Travel plans were postponed, and anniversaries and holidays were abnormally quiet. Of course, the blows to the arm will arouse a certain enthusiasm about the possibility of enjoying all the things you missed.

So what can you do now? Well, that’s complicated. IIn general, assessing how safe an activity will be after vaccination is not so cut and dry. For the most part, very little has changed for those who are vaccinated.

Experts point out that it is a little early to say that you can resume a pre-pandemic lifestyle, especially given that so many other people are still unvaccinated. Immunity of the herd, when about 70% or more of the population is immune to the disease, is the main target for “normalcy”.

The images are extremely effective against the virus that leads to hospitalization and death, which is great, but this is not the only thing to consider at this time. Pdeveloping research indicates that vaccines can reduce transmission, but more evidence needs to be collected.

This means that there is no activity fully without risks at this time. However, with proper precautions, some of your favorite activities might be a little safer, according to experts. But you need to consider other vital factors as we navigate the rest of the pandemic.

Before assessing the safety of various post-vaccination activities, it is worth mentioning some important warnings.

One, you want to watch the community broadcast. If the cases are extremely high in your area, certain activities (such as dining indoors) will be much more risky compared to an area with minimal COVID-19 activity.

Second, you need to further assess your personal risk. We should all continue to wear masks and keep our physical distance. If you have health conditions that make you more vulnerable to COVID-19 or if you live with someone who has it, it will be vital that you continue to practice tried and true safety measures. Remember that about 1 in 20 people he will not be protected even after vaccination.

Finally, emerging evidence has shown us that even mild cases can lead to devastating long-term symptoms that persist for months, potentially years. This is true for people who are otherwise healthy and could even include people who have had a total asymptomatic infection. So, although the shot will protect most people from severe disease, there are a lot of unanswered questions about what is in store for people who receive a mild to moderate case of COVID-19 after vaccination.

Sitting with other people who have been vaccinated, just looking at this case, is probably a low risk.

“If you meet people you know who are vaccinated and have two doses, you probably don’t need to wear a mask, because even if, for some reason, you were an asymptomatic carrier and you gave them, their likelihood of getting really sick will be low, ”he said Krysia Lindan, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.

However, it gets complicated when you consider other people. It is important to consider the health of all involved, he said Chris Thompson, immunologist and associate professor of biology at Loyola University in the Department of Biology in Maryland.

For example, if everyone is really healthy, it might be less risky, but if someone has “underlying complications, why risk it?” Thompson said.

The same goes for time spent indoors with friends or family members who have not been vaccinated. This is certainly more risky. If you are vaccinated, you are less likely to get the infection, but you still run the risk of passing it on to others.

“You are taking a risk. It is less than before, but I would not be a complete knight in this respect “, said Lindan.

Although a few small studies suggested that vaccines will reduce transmission, we really don’t know if you can spread it again, Thompson said.

Most experts in infectious diseases agree that eating indoors is still risky because coronavirus is an airborne disease (meaning it can hang in the air for hours and be inhaled). Although the risk of getting sick decreases substantially after vaccination, there is still a world where you could go out to eat and take COVID-19.

In general, eating outdoors is much safer than eating indoors. (When we say outdoors, we mean the outside entirely – not a closed structure outdoors.) Being indoors, without a mask, and in the immediate vicinity of those who are speech and laughing, he invites the possibility of the virus spreading.

If you choose to eat indoors after receiving the vaccine, wear a mask when you are not actively eating and avoid crowded places, Lindan said. If you are older and at risk for serious COVID-19 disease, it is probably not a wise idea to take off your mask and start eating indoors with strangers who may or may not be vaccinated.

Thompson said it is wise to adhere to the same standards for unvaccinated people. The risk of getting sick will be lower, but if you have to fly, wear a good mask and maybe even a face shield. “None of that really changes,” Thompson said.

We do not know how long the immunity lasts after vaccination and, remember, not everyone who has been vaccinated will develop immunity. Airports and public toilets are considered to be more dangerous than airplanes, which have excellent air filtration.

Public transport also carries the risk of being exposed to the aerosolized virus. The risk decreases after vaccination, especially for healthy people, but you could still spread the virus in these enclosed spaces. It is not clear how often buses, metros and public journeys are sanitized transit services they generally have poor ventilation, so masks are mandatory whether you have been vaccinated or not.

Lindan said that after being vaccinated, “she could feel much safer” to get a haircut, assuming that staff and other customers also wore masks. FAIRS were considered a high-risk environment, but combined with a good face mask, the vaccine helps you reduce your risk (but again, the risk is not zero).

Working on a Hall it still makes disease experts uncomfortable because there have been several outbreaks followed at fitness studios.

“This is a place where people breathe hard and exhale, potentially, the virus, and you yourself would do that,” said Lindan, who strongly suggests wearing a mask and keeping your distance from others if you go to the gym.

The risk here is primarily for the dentist, not the patient, Lindan explained. If the dentist wears the right protective equipment and there is good ventilation, the risk of transmission is reduced. “It’s probably good to brush your teeth,” Lindan said.

The same is generally true for other medical appointments. Do not postpone important examinations (some experts are concerned that the pandemic may lead to more undetected health problems). Here’s a quick guide to what to do about certain doctor visits.

The harsh truth is that scientists do not know right now how safe any of these activities will be for people who have been vaccinated. That is why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges people to do so keep wearing masks until the herd’s immunity is established and cases begin to decline dramatically.

Getting the vaccine means that you have done your part to slow down the spread of COVID-19, but it does not give you a free license. just now. If we all get shot when it’s our turn and stick to our masks a little longer, we can eliminate COVID-19 relatively quickly.

Vaccination is “a big step forward in overcoming this,” Thompson said, “but we will overcome this as a community, not as individuals.”

Experts are still learning about COVID-19. The information in this story is known or available from the date of publication, but the guidelines may change as scientists discover more about the virus. Please check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the most up-to-date recommendations.